The sharp increase in demand over the years for wireless services highlights a growing trend of general acceptance for this mode of communication. At the present time, customers obtain cellular service by subscribing with a service provider in their home service area. The home service area is a geographic area in which the subscriber anticipates making the majority of his/her calls, usually at a lower tariff rate. As wireless communication becomes more prevalent in society, an important aspect that will determine its general acceptance as a universal communication tool is the ability for subscribers to access services anywhere anytime.
Presently in some countries, there exists a mishmash of cellular systems operating in accordance with different standards, each of which being incompatible with each other. Further complicating the situation is that each of the service providers operate independently with an interest in serving its subscribers in its coverage area. Subscribers wishing to access services outside their home area may be restricted from doing so since access may ultimately depend on whether their provider has a roaming agreement with the visiting provider. This is especially the case in the United States where there exists a patchwork of independently operating systems that are not all linked by roaming agreements.
In situations where roaming agreements do not exist between providers, visiting subscribers must presently carry out a somewhat tedious and manual process in order to obtain service in the visiting area. In many situations, a visiting customer may go through, among other things, a credit check in a process that may be similar to signing up a new customer. Another method that is sometimes used by roaming subscribers typically requires the visiting subscriber to call a toll free number to register for service and/or provide immediate payment. This often requires the subscriber to manually enter a lengthy credit card number on his or her mobile terminal which is then verified for credit worthiness before service is allowed These methods often turn out to be lengthy and inconvenient to customers that desire quick access to services.
In view of the foregoing, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a streamlined and automated prepayment method for roaming subscribers to access wireless telecommunication services that is relatively quick and convenient.